Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) was born on April 22, 1870, as the second of six children to a middle-class teacher's family in the city of Simbirsk. He was baptized in the Orthodox Church. He received a good education, studied law, and developed an early interest in radical ideas. Lenin, whose real name was Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov, led the Russian revolution and is remembered in history as the leader who established the USSR.
Imperial Russia was in a dire state, far from its glorious days, struggling in poverty and despair. Lenin and his comrades aimed to bury this corpse. His brother's participation in protests against the Tsar, which led to his death, added a vengeance aspect to Lenin's already existing ideological opposition. According to official Soviet historians, the execution of Lenin's brother, Ilyich Ulyanov, played a significant role in shaping Lenin's revolutionary thoughts.
Despite being expelled from school due to his radical views, he managed to complete his legal education independently. He moved to St. Petersburg and became a professional revolutionary. He believed fervently that the overthrow of the regime in Russia was imperative, to be replaced by a more just and, most importantly, egalitarian one. Like many who shared the same dreams, he was arrested and exiled to Siberia. His exile ended in 1900, and Lenin emerged using his pseudonym. He first used the name Lenin in an article in the Iskra newspaper.
He was aware that they were constantly being watched by the Tsar's regime. He spent 15 years in various cities across Europe. At the end of this period, Vladimir Lenin, a prominent figure in the international revolutionary movement guided by the socialist philosophy of Karl Marx, became the leader of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He consistently proclaimed the need for a new world order where society would be equal, free, and classless. Lenin's goal was to lead the historical transformation of a human society devoid of social disparities. His words always revolved around the theme of equality.
World War I devastated the world, particularly Russia. The February Revolution of 1917 erupted, leading to the removal of the Tsar from power. The administration fell into the hands of the moderate socialists known as the Mensheviks. However, there was a problem. The Mensheviks were opposed to Tsar Nicholas II, but they were not against World War I. In contrast, Lenin and his comrades condemned the war, which they saw as the source of all evils. Germany believed that Lenin would take Russia out of the war and aided his return. As soon as Lenin set foot in Russia, he raised the banner against the provisional government that had overthrown the Tsar. Ultimately, this rebellion culminated in the October Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution). Lenin carried out the coup and toppled the government. Following Lenin's coup, the ensuing civil war saw the Bolsheviks, known as the Reds, emerge victorious. This period, marked by hunger, war, and famine, was accompanied by the Red Terror targeting dissenters, ultimately solidifying Lenin's rule. He implemented effective policies for the country, winning the affection of the people and played a crucial role in the victory of the Bolsheviks with three million Russians joining the Red Army during the civil war (1920-1921).
Lenin was a ruthless revolutionary. He single-handedly took control after the coup and set about restructuring the Russian economy on a socialist basis. When this economic plan proved unsuccessful, he implemented the New Economic Policy, which allowed private property, and it continued for several years after his death. He engaged in efforts to establish and consolidate the Soviet Socialist Republics into the USSR. After his death, literally everything in Russia became state-owned. In 1918, he was shot three times by a party member who accused him of conceding too much to Germany in the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. Though he survived the assassination attempt with severe injuries, he later became bedridden and passed away in 1924.
Before his death, Lenin expressed dissatisfaction with Stalin in his core circle, warning those around him to be wary of him. In his testament, dictated to his wife while bedridden in 1922, Lenin harshly criticized Stalin and his circle. When Lenin's thoughts were read out at a party congress after his death, Stalin found himself in a difficult position. The path he embarked on for a classless society ended with the dominance of a bureaucratic class in a totalitarian empire. His body was mummified after his death and is still displayed in Moscow's Red Square. Lenin was the first communist leader to be mummified. With over 2000 works written about him and his works translated into foreign languages around the world, Vladimir Lenin, the seventh person in importance, developed Marxism, which is why Marxism and Leninism are commonly referred to together. The Russian Orthodox Church has formally demanded that Lenin be declared an extremist and a villain similar to the Nazis due to the years of Red Terror.
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